Newer commercial passenger aircraft have interiors that are more modern, convenient, safe, and aesthetically pleasing than their older counterparts.
In general, for all classes of comfort, seats are positioned in transverse rows with respect to the longitudinal centerline of the aircraft (or the direction of travel of the plane) as well as in longitudinal columns.
To make their fleets of aircraft profitable, airlines have a dual concern. On the one hand, airlines want to carry the largest number of passengers in a given space (the aircraft passenger cabin) and on the other hand, they want to keep their customers happy and gain their loyalty by offering them the best possible services in terms of comfort and space. Thus, there is a continuous demand, especially to airlines, provide maximum comfort in high density and restrict spaces.
Headliners are commonly used in many different types of vehicles. Typically, a headliner for a vehicle is mounted within the passenger compartment of a vehicle to the vehicle roof. The headliner forms an acoustical liner for the interior of the vehicle. Headliners also add to the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle and are often manufactured with a compartment facing surface of a finish material. Various accessories, such as grab handles, dome lamps, visors, overhead stowage compartments, clothing hooks and the like can be incorporated into the headliner. See in this regard, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,395,074 and 6,454,209 (the entirety of each being incorporated hereinto by reference). The headliner can be manufactured from a variety of relatively light materials, including fiberglass, polyester batting, compressed fiberboard and semi rigid foam.
It would of course be ideal for the interior passenger cabin to be physically as large as possible yet this desire is often constrained by the physical limits and dimensions of the vehicle. It would therefore be highly desirable if an optical effect could be achieved which, while not physically increasing the interior cabin space of a commercial passenger vehicle, could nonetheless provide a visual sensation to passengers of an enlarged cabin space. It is toward providing such a need that the systems and methods disclosed herein are directed.